"Freedom and democracy are not to be taken for granted"

To celebrate the 80th anniversary of VE Day, on 5 May prime minister SIR KEIR STARMER hosted a tea party in Downing Street for Second World War veterans, schoolchildren and people with links to the armed forces. Following the event, he spoke to our correspondent York Membery about why marking the anniversary is so important - and the resonances with the current war in Ukraine

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Why does the VE Day anniversary matter to you?

Sir Keir Starmer It was an incredible occasion - and a moment for all of us, myself included - to reflect and remember. It was a chance to have conversations with veterans and those who lived through the Second World War, and to learn more about their stories. Every single conversation and every single veteran’s experience is different.

I spoke to a woman who had been outside the gates of Buckingham Palace on VE Day, chanting: “We want the king!” and later doing the conga in the street. That gave me a real idea of the sense of jubilation on the day.

It’s also an opportunity to look back and remind ourselves that our children - my boy is 16 and my girl is 14 - live in peace in a democracy because of the sacrifices of the Second World War generation. My grandfather was in the army during the war, though he was one of those people who never spoke about what he did and where he went, and he died when I was quite young.

Having the Ukrainian contingent there in today’s procession [which took place in London earlier on 5 May, alongside an RAF flypast] was also incredibly powerful. It was heartwarming to see the spontaneous applause they received outside Buckingham Palace.

It was also a reminder that, while we're looking back after 80 years and rightly celebrating victory in Europe in 1945, the things we fought for - such as freedom and democracy - are not to be taken for granted. The importance of VE Day to me personally is wrapped up in all of those elements.

Why does VE Day still matter to Britain today, in 2025?